"This Duncan hath borne his faculties too meek", and so have you.
They sang a furious "Surely he hath borne our griefs" and an "All we like sheep have gone astray" of rollicking, almost celebratory intensity, egged on by a muscular, unrelenting orchestra.
"The oldest hath borne most," suggests Edgar famously at the end of the play and, writing in the programme, Morris talks of "a raw and angry generation given power that they are not ready to wield".
In some Mr. Scott demanded that every syllable be crisply enunciated, an approach that can easily become mannered (as it did toward the end of "Surely he hath borne our griefs") but more often yields benefits in textual clarity (as in the brisk "Let us break their bonds asunder").
I know that, generally speaking, most singers' favourite number is the heart-rending "Surely he hath borne" in Part II, and I know that while it's de rigueur to loudly claim boredom at singing the key-chain chorus "Hallelujah" to a standing (and often humming) audience, it still never fails to raise goosebumps among even the most sour, jaded professionals.
Naturally, Mr. Harnoncourt, an esteemed figure in the early-music movement, employs many of the stylistic practices common to period-instrument ensembles: the strings play with minimal vibrato; contrapuntal textures are scrupulously clear; dotted rhythms, as in the chorus "Surely He hath borne our griefs," are executed with an extra-quick snap.
I knew him, Reader: a tablet of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: it hath borne me into the library a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at it.
I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at it.
Isaiah 53 4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
